Bobby Baccalla gets whacked
Trainland - a special place growing up
Trainland - a special place growing up
Trainland - a special place growing up
Near the town on Long Island where I grew up was this amazing store called Trainland, in Valley Stream, which was filled from floor to ceiling with model trains (from "N" to "L" gauge) model cars, Estes rockets and stuff for many other hobbies. Many years ago my family and I went to visit my parents in Merrick. When I saw Trainland was still there, I said "dad, we HAVE to go in." (Yea, like he needed convincing.)
We go inside....
Trainland - a special place growing up
Trainland - a special place growing up
It was like stepping back in time. It was exactly as I remembered, with displays of hundreds of model trains and accessories lining the walls. Nearby, I heard my wife calling out to me. She just HAD to show me something in a display. Okay, here's come the Sopranos connection. Remember in the last episode of the series, when Bobby Bacala, who was a model train hobbyist, got "whacked" at a model train store? THIS WAS THE STORE!
Did I mention the sign outside the store?
Did I mention the sign outside the store?
Did I mention the sign outside the store?
YES! THIS was the place where Bobby Baccalla got whacked in the last season of The Sopranos.
They even have the bullet shells
Did I mention the sign outside the store?
Did I mention the sign outside the store?
Circled in the lower left corner I've marked two bullet shells used in the scene. Those are the trains that "Bobby" was looking at when he was shot. Another employee, who got a kick out of my TWO reactions (one, for the beloved store of my youth still being around and TWO for that store being a scene in one of my favorite TV shows) called my family over to watch a video of the scene as it was broadcast.
The video of Bobby's demise...
The video of Bobby's demise...
The video of Bobby's demise...
A VERY Meta moment, watching the scene while IN THE STORE!
A surprise
The video of Bobby's demise...
The video of Bobby's demise...
The employees said actor Steve Schirripa (who played Bobby) was extremely gracious and kind to the store's employees.